Episodic memory for object location versus episodic memory for object identity: do they rely on distinct encoding processes?

Three experiments were conducted to determine whether encoding processes that support episodic memory for object location are distinct from those that support memory for object identity. Guided by transfer-appropriate processing notions, we examined with an incidental learning paradigm whether an attentional focus on object location at encoding promotes subsequent recovery of object location, whereas a focus on object identity promotes recovery of object identity. We found that judging spatial relationships at encoding selectively supports recovery of object location, provided the test assesses memory for these relationships (rather than absolute location); our results also showed that judging physical and semantic object attributes promotes recovery of object identity preferentially. Contrasting with these domain-specific effects was evidence that identification processes involved in object naming boost memory for object identity as well as for absolute object location. Object identification at encoding may support memory performance in both domains by triggering the binding of identity and location information through a mechanism of object-based attentional selection.